by Woods, Karen
“Do you need help down? We can get you a ladder,” the younger man asked in concern, without giving her a chance to answer the other man’s question.
“A stiff burst of adrenaline can do wonders for a person’s jumping and climbing abilities,” she replied as she climbed down to the lowest large branch. “If you’ll stand back, please? I’d really hate to land on anyone by accident.”
The men backed away to give her room.
“You’d prefer to land on us on purpose instead of by accident?” the younger of the men teased.
“Something like that,” she replied as she tried to work up the courage to get the rest of the way down out of the tree.
The older man, the one in the uniform, asked, “Are you sure you don’t need any assistance, Miss Devlin?”
“I’m coming down, now.” She sat down, then stretched out on the branch, wrapped her arms around it, before rolling off, straightening out, and dropping the few inches to the ground. “Thanks for rescuing me from the beast.”
The younger man winked at her. His green eyes sparkled with amusement. “You’re welcome. It’s seldom I get to play white knight, rescuing the fair damsel from the jaws of death.”
She felt herself smile. The younger man obviously thought himself to be a lady’s man. Probably correctly. He was a handsome man, in a boyish way. Dark red hair, green eyes, freckles, athletic, somewhere in his mid to late thirties. His suit was expensive. So was the shirt. He definitely hadn’t bought either off the rack. Whoever he was, he had money and good looks, as well as some sort of relationship to the law. The certain air of authority about him, coupled with his obvious money and good looks, probably had the local female population tripping over themselves to get to him.
“No?” she replied, finding herself flirting with him in return. “I would have thought you the type to carry about your suit of shining armor, always ready to do battle.”
The younger man smiled and winked at her, but could not answer before the elderly woman interrupted. She hadn’t noticed the woman and her dog had come out to the road.
“I want her arrested, Bob,” the elderly woman said. “Charge her with criminal trespass to property to begin with, and whatever other charges you can make stick. And you, Steven Anderson, I’m glad that you were here to see this, it will make it easier for you to prosecute.”
Dani looked over at the elderly woman in total disbelief.
“Now, Miss Emily,” the man called Bob, Chief Hunter, replied, the barest hint of impatience in his voice. “There isn’t any indication she was ever on your property. We found her on public property. And if she was ever on your property, there isn’t a shred of evidence that she stole, or intended to steal, anything. Certainly, she’s not equipped to carry off anything.”
“Don’t, ‘Miss Emily’ me, in that tone, James Robert Hunter, III. Your mama and I were best friends, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“No, Miss Emily, I haven’t forgotten. But it’s not relevant to this at all.”
“I’m tired of being stolen from. No one else but a thief would have been out at this ungodly hour. Good dog,” Emily stated firmly as she scratched behind the big dog’s ears.
“There are many words I’d use to describe Buster, Miss Emily, but ‘good dog’ isn’t remotely among them,” Bob, Chief Hunter, said. “You’ve been warned about keeping that dog from becoming a further public nuisance. You’re just lucky this young woman could take shelter in the tree and Buster didn’t get a chance to take a hunk out of her hide. Now, I’m telling you, you either keep the animal under control or I’ll have Buster put down. This is your last warning. I suggest you heed it.”
“Buster did no harm at all. He was just protecting my property,” the old woman protested. “Now, I want to make an example of this thief. You hear me, Steven Anderson. You’re the Commonwealth’s Attorney for this county. I want a speedy conviction.”
“I am not a thief!” Dani denied.
Then the officer turned to her. “Of course not. But what were you doing out this early?”
“Before I was assaulted by that…mail carrier’s night-mare?” she replied, her voice dry.
The man Miss Emily had called Steven Anderson laughed. It was a pleasant sound of genuine amusement.
Chief Hunter smiled and answered, “Yeah, before that.”
“I was making my morning run. I usually run at least ten miles,” Dani replied.
“Training for a marathon?” Steve Anderson asked.
“Not right now. Just staying in shape,” Dani replied as she looked at the younger man.
“Not right now. Interesting phrasing. Run many marathons?” Steve Anderson asked.
“A few,” she dismissed before getting to her point. “I don’t know the law in Virginia, Mister Anderson. Is there some sort of law making owners criminally and civilly liable for the actions of their domestic animals? I know there is back home. If so, I want to file whatever charges are appropriate against that woman in relation to the actions of her dog.”
She labeled Miss Emily’s expression as “poleaxed”.
The older woman said, “Of all the unmitigated gall! How dare you threaten me, young woman! Do you have any idea to whom you’re speaking?”
“Actually, I was speaking to Mr. Anderson,” Dani replied as she turned her attention to the old woman. “I seriously doubt, ma’am, whether you want me to tell you what I think about being terrorized by your dog.”
The officer commanded, “There is no need to be getting all hot under the collar, on either of your parts.”
“I was out for my morning run,” Dani asserted, “minding my own business, running down a public road when her dog broke free and chased me. If almost becoming the victim of a vicious dog, and having to take shelter in a tree, isn’t cause for getting hot under the collar, then I don’t know what might be.”
“Ladies, ladies. Let’s just cool off for a minute,” the policeman urged. “It doesn’t appear that any real harm was done to anyone.”
“Aside from the fact I was frightened out of my wits?” Dani demanded.
“It appears,” Steven Anderson said in clear amusement, “witlessness was a short lived phenomenon.”
Dani teased, “Perhaps. But then again a woman has to be careful not to think of herself as a wit for fear of being only half right.”
* * *
Bob Hunter laughed as he looked at the young woman standing before him. He could believe this was Harry’s daughter. She looked an awfully lot like her grandmother.
“Okay. We’ve got the situation resolved. No one is pressing charges against anyone else,” he said. “We’re going to let this drop right here, both of you. Is that understood, both of you?”
The old woman huffed. “Fine, Bob. The next time that I report a burglar, I expect you will arrive before the house is cleaned out!”
“Miss Emily, it was ten years ago that you were robbed. You were in Europe at the time,” he reminded Miss Emily. “We did catch the thieves. They did time for the crime. Don’t you think you’re being unduly harsh?”
* * *
The elderly woman fixed Bob Hunter with a glare of such intense ire Dani felt sorry for the officer.
“Now, let us give you a ride back to your father’s house,” Chief Hunter insisted.
“That’s a crock,” Emily interjected. “She’s not related to anyone who lives along here.”
Dani looked at the older woman.
“Oh, my sweet God! Katie Devlin, come back to life! O God! Harry Devlin’s bastard by that O’Brien whore,” Emily replied in genuine horror as the situation dawned on her. “The best thing Harry Devlin ever did was to get his disaster of a marriage to her annulled.”
“What?” Dani replied, stunned at the vehemence of the old woman’s words.
Emily huffed in an angry voice. “If you ever come onto my property again, I’ll shoot you. I’m not waiting to be murdered the way that your mother murdered my poor nephew, Peter, beaten and drowne
d. On that you have my solemn word.”
Dani looked at the older woman. “I’d be careful about making threats, if I were you, ma’am, especially in the presence of witnesses. Particularly if those witnesses are sworn officers of the law and of the courts. If I were to end up shot, you’d be the prime suspect. People have been convicted and executed based on lesser evidence.”
“Just stay off my property!” Emily said. “Better yet, why don’t you just crawl back under whatever rock you slithered out from under? We have a nice community here. We don’t want bohemian trash like you around.”
“Oh really? But the community accepts bigoted and clearly mentally unbalanced persons like yourself? How very interesting.”
“The acorn never falls far from the tree. You look like Katie Devlin, rest her soul. But you were raised by Nancy O’Brien. That woman is no good. No good at all. An artist. A tramp without morals or honor! She killed my nephew, darned near killed her own husband, then stole money from his business and disappeared. If she raised you, then you must share her lack of morals. Tell me what’s that murdering whore doing now? Twenty to life in a federal prison?” Emily demanded.
“My mother died a few weeks ago.”
Emily seemed to blanch a little. “I can’t say I’m sorry to hear about Nancy. Death couldn’t have happened to anyone who deserved it more,” Emily replied, clear anger in her voice. “I hope she had her fire insurance paid up.”
“What do you mean by that?!” Dani demanded as her stance became very aggressive.
Emily shrank away. Fear showed in the elderly woman’s eyes. “Bob, keep her away from me!”
“What do you mean you hope Mother had her fire insurance paid up?” Dani demanded as she stepped toward the elderly woman.
“One more step toward me and Buster will be at your throat. Stay away from me. Stay off my property. Stay out of my sight.”
“If you’ll clarify what you meant by the fire insurance crack, I’ll be glad to stay as far away from you as possible!”
“She’s crazy, Bob. Keep her away from me!” Emily Chance pleaded.
“Just explain your statement about the fire,” Dani insisted.
“Eternal flames are too good of a fate for Nancy O’Brien. And they are too good for the likes of you. Now, stay off my property, you brazen hussy,” Emily huffed, turned, and walked away, Buster obediently at her heels.
“What was that about?” Steve Anderson demanded.
Her gaze stayed on the departing form of the elderly woman. She found herself trembling.
Steve Anderson walked over to her. “Miss Devlin?” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Miss?”
Dani shook her head as if to clear it. “God! Tell me about her.”
But it was the officer who answered her, “Don’t go stirring up trouble, Miss Mary Danielle. Leave the past alone. Your mama wasn’t well liked locally, and that is putting it mildly. There are a few folks who still hold a grudge against Nancy, no matter how irrational that sounds. Miss Emily is probably the worst of the bunch. That old woman never forgets anything, and has never forgiven anyone. Still, it wouldn’t take much for some of them to transfer that grudge to you. Especially since your mama is out of their reach. Do yourself a favor and stay away from Miss Emily. She could make more trouble for you than you care to handle. And although you have my sympathy about your mama’s death, I don’t want to hear that you’re stirring up trouble.”
“Do you know how my mother died?” Dani demanded of the officer.
“I’ve heard,” the officer said.
“Then, you can understand how her comment was too suspicious for my peace of mind.”
“Miss Emily is a cantankerous old woman who has no trouble consigning anyone to burning hell,” Bob stated, his voice both authoritarian and flat. “She couldn’t have had anything to do with the fire in which your mama died. She’s a gossip and a backbiting old biddy, but she lacks the moral courage to take any direct action against anyone.”
“Anyone who can harbor that much hate for that long is capable of anything,” Dani responded in a tight voice as she fought for her control. The burst of adrenaline had sustained her during the dog’s attack had faded. She began to tremble. But she couldn’t afford to fall apart now.
“Come on, my uncle Bob and I will run you back to your father’s house,” Steve offered.
“Planning on staying around long?” the officer asked carefully as they reached the car.
“My plans are in a state of flux at the moment,” she answered. “And they’re none of anyone else’s business.”
“Look, Miss Devlin, I’ve known your father for sixty plus years,” Bob Hunter, the chief, said, “since we were both in short pants.”
“Why do I think there is a ‘but’ attached to that statement?” she demanded.
Bob smiled. The expression wasn’t at all pleasant. “Crime is low around here. We have a quiet community. And we would like to keep it that way.”
Dani looked at him. “I’m very glad that your workload is so light. However, why don’t you simply make your point, so there’s no possible misunderstanding between us?”
“I don’t want any trouble from you. Even as much as the barest hint of trouble and I’ll run you in so fast that it will make your head spin, my longstanding friendship with your father notwithstanding,” Bob Hunter warned. “If you as much as jaywalk, I’ll slap you in jail for creating a public nuisance. Do you understand me?”
“That’s clear enough. Silly me, I wasn’t aware the Commonwealth of Virginia had adopted Code Napoleon,” Dani replied as she realized she would be riding in the back seat of the police car, if she took the lift. She had no desire to put herself at the mercy of these men. “I’ll forego the ride, thank you very much. I’ll just cut my run down to seven miles today and go back to my father’s house, now. Good day, gentlemen.” Then she took off running as if her life depended on her doing a three minute mile.
She didn’t look back, even though she was completely aware of the police car following her at a safe distance until she was inside her father’s gate.
Chapter Seven
Dani’s mind was full of the conversation with the old woman. Peter? Why did the old woman accuse Mother of murdering him? Was the woman simply deranged? Or was this why Mother had really left the area? Thea did start to say ‘murder’ last night when my father cut her off.
More importantly, did that old woman, Emily, actually know anything about the fire? Or was the comment simply Miss Emily’s bitter way of consigning Mother to perdition? Either way, I didn’t much care for the comment. But what if it were the former instead of the latter?
I may have really blown it. God, when I am going to be able to keep my temper under control?
What did Bob Hunter mean about people holding grudges? What had Mother done? Had she actually been involved in a murder? Somehow, Dani doubted it. Murder, violence of any sort, wasn’t anything she could imagine her mother having any part in.
Besides, there would have been a murder warrant out on Mother, if there were any real evidence. Any warrant on her Nan Devlin would have discovered a long time ago when her mother had undergone the criminal back-ground checks required of anyone teaching public school in Illinois. Murder is a crime for which there is no statute of limitations. It would have been easy enough to find her, had anyone really cared to look.
These were questions that needed to be answered. But how was she supposed to go about asking them? Her previous plan of patience clearly had to be scuttled, now. She had to have answers. And there was only one person who could give them to her. Maybe.
“Oh, there you are,” Harry Devlin said, coming down the stairs, as Dani entered the house. He was dressed for riding, in the English style: tan breeches, white shirt, brown tweed jacket. “Been out running, this early, my dear?” he asked in clear surprise.
“Brilliant deduction,” she replied with a forced laugh as she looked at this man who was her father. “We have to
talk.”
Harry nodded affirmatively. “Yes. We do. Come, I’ll show you your grandfather’s sculpture studio, then you can have some breakfast with me.”
Dani followed her father to her grandfather’s studio. The older outbuilding was a sculptor’s dream of a work-space. She told her father so.
Harry just smiled. “My father was a perfectionist of the highest order. Anything he put his hand to, he did well. I’ve tried to keep this building in good repair. Although, frankly, it’s become mostly a storage shed in the years since Mama died. I’ve just had a new roof put on and the mechanical and electrical systems upgraded for your comfort.”
“That was kind of you.”
“You can move your tools in and start work any time. I’ve stocked supplies for you; clays, marble, granite, wood. You should be set for a while. But if you need anything else, I’ve set up lines of credit for you with a half-dozen top art and stone supply houses around the country. The account information is in the file drawer of your desk. Those bills come to me.”
“Why?”
He smiled and said, “I thought that’s what fathers were for. Besides, I’d very much like to have you produce a portrait bust of Lyn, and one of me, in marble. I’ll be happy to pay you your normal commission for the work.”
“Nonsense! I’ll give you the work as a gift. You’re providing the studio space and have provided the supplies. This is the least I can do to pay you back for all you’ve offered me.”
He shook his head. “That’s a tremendous gift. I don’t know a sculptor who charges less than ten thousand dollars for a portrait bust in marble. Some charge less for terra cotta or for terra cotta and bronze, both.”
She shrugged. “You know the market. But I don’t feel right about charging family. If I charge you, you’d better charge me rent for the studio and room and board for my lodging.”
“That’s ridiculous! I’d never do that.”